Tyson has my Heart

I bought an 8" tall, stuffed gorilla last year after Valentine's Day. It held a fat stuffed heart in its hands and sat rather stiff and upright.  It was a pretty good sale item and I had imagined I would hold onto it for a special gift sometime down the road, so it sat forgotten and in with little kitty soccer balls, toy mice, rattle balls and catnip-filled pillows until one particularly sad day leaving Tyson behind.

It was a bump on his jaw line.  I knew Boxers were prone to cancer and bumps could be indicators of trouble.  Prepare for the worst, and hope for the best is not the best motto to have, but my negativity gave me an idea.  So, the next time we went to see Tyson, I had cut off the gorilla's heart (choke hazard) and kept the heart with me, but gave the gorilla to Tyson.  Before I did that, I had made sure the little stuffed animal held our smells, so he would know we were there even when we weren't there.  Then, I tuned his radio station to something I like to listen to so that I could imagine Tyson with the monkey and listening to the same radio station.  I suppose it was the "under one sun, one moon" idea.  And every time we pick up Tyson, we put that same station on in the truck. Well, Tyson's bump disappeared and all was well by the following week, but in the end, I got the opportunity to be just a little bit closer every day.

Months later, Tyson still has his little gorilla, though the thing has seen better days.  It does get washed every now and again; taken out to play; and set in a window from time to time, but it stays with Tyson.  I keep the heart in my purse or pocket, hold it in my hand when falling asleep...Tyson is always with me.  Anyone who is a dog-lover will understand that when you take on the responsibility of another, you grab that idea with your whole being.

Tyson may not be able to be with us, but we are definitely with him.